Vietnam launches programme to boost rooftop solar power

Renewable energy is expected to generate 6.5% of the country’s total electricity by 2020.

The Electricity and Renewable Energy Authority of Vietnam’s Ministry of Industry and Trade has launched a programme to boost the development of rooftop solar power in the country.

The Vietnam Low Emission Energy Programme (V-LEEP), funded by the US Agency for International Development (USAID), is designed to attract investment from the private sector into clean energy.

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Though the programme, the US agency will support the local government in harmonising national strategies, laws, policies and regulations to encourage clean energy development, noted USAID’s director Michael Greene.

Renewable energy is expected to generate 6.5% of Vietnam’s total electricity in 2020 and 10.7% by 2030. According to Phuong Hoang Kim, director for the Electricity and Renewable Energy Authority, the country is aiming to save 10% of energy in the total power consumption by 2020.

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The Ministry of Industry and Trade previously approved a programme to develop rooftop solar power in Vietnam between 2019 and 2025. “Vietnam is also seeking to generate electricity from wind and biomass energy,” the report said, adding that the industrial sector uses approximately 50% of the country’s total energy resources.